CHICAGO (WGN) — The Chicago White Sox. Oh, the Chicago White Sox. Where do we begin?
Once game No. 162 had come and gone, the White Sox were in sole possession of the most losses across a single season in Major League Baseball history (41-121), surpassing the likes of the 2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119) and the 1962 New York Mets (42-120) as the stinkiest baseball team in the history of both the American League and MLB.
It’s one thing to be a bad baseball team, but it takes a cataclysmic amount of dominos falling in the wrong direction to become as historically bad as the baseball team on the South Side of Chicago was in 2024.
Here’s a list of every statistic the White Sox were ranked dead last in baseball at the end of 2024 (second-to-last is in parentheses):
- Home Runs: 133 (135 – WSH)
- Triples: 9 (15 – SEA)
- Hits: 1,187 (1,195 – SEA)
- Runs Scored: 507 (604 – TBR)
- RBI: 485 (564 – TBR)
- Run differential: -306 (-247 – COL)
- Walks (batting): 395 (403 – MIA)
- Batting Average: .221 (.224 – SEA)
- On-Base Percentage: .278 (.300 – DET)
- Slugging Percentage: .340 (.366 – TBR)
- On-Base Plus Slugging: .618 (.668 – TBR)
- Saves: 21 (33 – MIA)
- Blown Saves: 37 (31 – BOS)
- Walks (pitching): 643 (601 – LAA)
The South Siders were also bottom five in doubles (31st – 226), team ERA (30th – 4.67), runs allowed (30th – 813), earned runs (29th – 737), home runs allowed (29th – 201) and opponents’ batting average (28th – .255).
How does a team get into a position where they’re the worst, or at best, fifth-worst in 20 different statistical categories?
A piece written in late September encapsulates how the White Sox’s front-office culture catapulted the franchise to record lows.
“A very slow start to change”
Jake Peavy, a pitching triple-crown winner with the San Diego Padres and starting pitcher on the South Side for three-plus seasons, sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Paul M. Banks and the online outlet, Responsible Gambler, on Sept. 21.
In the article, Peavy laid out a roadmap of dysfunction he was beholden to while playing for the White Sox.
In his eyes, team owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s loyalty to his allies, a lack of evolution with the game, and an inability to create structure, led to the creation of a culture that slowly killed the White Sox — a death by a thousand cuts, as opposed to one devastating blow that sent the franchise spiraling all at once.
“Everybody was evolving and analytics and science was making its way in, and the White Sox were doing none of that,” Peavy said during his interview with rg.org. “You look at Allen Thomas, strength and conditioning coach; there was not a cohesive plan between Herm Schneider, the training staff, and the strength staff. Herm disliked what was going on there [in the weight room]…
“Ozzie [Guillen] thought he was in charge, Joey [Cora] thought he was in charge, [Don Cooper] thinks he’s in charge, Herm Schneider thinks he’s in charge, him and Jerry are best friends, and he really trumps anybody in the room.”
Peavy used a variety of examples and experiences to further describe the White Sox’s dysfunction that’s been primarily brought about by Reinsdorf, including Michael Jordan’s departure from the Chicago Bulls, as well as a chaotic back-and-forth getting tickets to family members during a road trip to New York, and how another former White Sox player went outside of the organization to rehab an injury because of how unreliable he felt the South Siders’ training staff was at the time.
The full piece can be found at a link at the bottom of this article.
The 3-22 start
The White Sox stumbled out of the gate, setting the stage for the season to come.
Opening Day served as what could be the White Sox’s best pitching matchup of the season — Eventual MLB pitching triple crown winner Tarik Skubal against the power-pitching prowess of Garrett Crochet in front of what turned out to be the second-largest crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field all season (33,420).
The largest home crowd of the season came on June 26 in the finale of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers (36,225).
Skubal pitched six innings of shutout baseball, while Crochet turned in six innings of one-run ball with 8 strikeouts in a 1-0 loss, which was a recurring theme throughout the team’s first 25 games.
Detroit swept the White Sox in three games, all of which were one-run losses. Overall, the South Siders lost six one-run ballgames in their first 25, and 11 games by three runs or less.
The 21-game losing streak
When the losses came, they came often and in bunches, especially from July 10 through Aug. 5.
Starting in the back half of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins, the White Sox lost 21 straight games where they were outscored 136-49. The team’s run differential over that 21-game stretch (-87) was worse than only five other MLB teams’ run differential across the entire season.
By year’s end, only the Colorado Rockies (-247), Miami Marlins (-204), Los Angeles Angels (-162), Oakland Athletics (-121) and the Washington Nationals (-104) had a worse run differential than the White Sox did during their 21-game losing streak.
“We talk about it every day,” said then-White Sox manager Pedro Grifol of the streak. “Everybody knows what it is. It’s 21 in a row. It sucks. It’s not fun. It’s painful. It hurts. You name it. However you want to describe it.
“It’s not for lack of effort. Nobody wants to come out here and lose, so we’ve just got to put a good game together and put this behind us.”
The 21st straight loss, a 5-1 loss to the Athletics, tied an American League record for losses in a row with the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who have a special connection to the 2024 White Sox.
Larry Sheets, a designated hitter and outfielder for the 1988 Orioles, is the father of White Sox first baseman and corner outfielder Gavin Sheets so, technically, there’s also a father-son duo tied for the American League record for consecutive losses as a team.
The sell-off
Smack dab in the back half of their 21-game losing streak came the 2024 trade deadline on July 30.
By the time the 5 p.m. CT deadline came and went, the White Sox made four deals, trading away Erick Fedde, Paul DeJong, Michael Kopech, Tommy Pham, Eloy Jimenez and Tanner Banks.
White Sox trade Fedde, Kopech, Pham for prospects in 3-team deal
The first deal of the day was the team’s biggest one, shipping off their No. 2 starting pitcher in Fedde, along with Pham, to the St. Louis Cardinals, and flame-throwing Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-team deal.
In return, the White Sox received two infield prospects from the Dodgers, Jeral Perez and Alexander Albertus — LA’s No. 17 and 23 prospects at the time — along with utilityman Miguel Vargas.
Vargas slashed .239/.313/.423 with a .735 OPS across 30 games and 80 plate appearances for the Dodgers, but struggled mightily after being dealt to the South Side. In 42 games and 157 plate appearances for the White Sox, Vargas slashed .104/.217/.170 with a .387 OPS.
Perez, 19, was assigned to Chicago’s Single-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers and slashed .259/.344/.431 with 14 extra-base hits in 30 games after being traded.
Albertus, also 19, didn’t see any action in the White Sox minor league system after being placed on the 60-day injured list with a stress fracture in his left tibia on July 29.
In 32 games in the Arizona Complex League, the Aruba native posted a .342/.479/.460 slash line before being called up to Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he struggled against more advanced pitching, slashing .229/.317/.329 in 19 games.
After going 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts for the White Sox, Fedde’s production dropped slightly, going 2-5 with a 3.72 ERA in 10 starts with the Cardinals. He finished the year 9-9 with a 3.30 ERA across 31 starts with a 5.6 WAR, good for sixth in MLB among pitchers.
Pham was a slightly above-average hitter for the White Sox, posting a .710 OPS and a 104 OPS+ (4% better than the league-average hitter in 2024) in 70 games with Chicago. Pham hit a grand slam in his first game with St. Louis after being traded, but went 2 for 28 over his last ten games with the Cardinals before being DFA’d and later signed by the Kansas City Royals, where he fizzled out (64 OPS+) after a hot start with the club (.320 batting average in his first six games).
Kopech turned into a valuable late-inning weapon for the venerable Dodgers after struggling with pitch location in his fifth season on the South Side.
The Texas native, who ranked in the 98th percentile in fastball velocity across MLB in 2024, finished the regular season 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA in a Dodgers’ uniform, compared to the 2-8 record and 4.74 ERA he had with the White Sox before the trade deadline.
And as we know now, he also won a World Series championship with Los Angeles.
White Sox trade Paul DeJong to Kansas City
DeJong was the White Sox biggest success story with a bat before the trade deadline.
Before being traded to the Royals, DeJong led the White Sox in home runs (18), slugging percentage (.430), OPS (.706) and total bases (145), among players who had played at least 50% of total games up until that point.
In return for DeJong, the White Sox received minor league pitcher Jarold Rosado.
Rosado — a right-handed pitcher who was ranked outside of Kansas City’s top 30 prospects, according to MLB.com — Is a 22-year-old reliever who pitched in 27 games for the Royals’ Single-A affiliate, the Carolina Fireflies, before the trade.
Across those 27 games, Rosado finished 11 contests and posted a 1.85 ERA in 39 innings pitched. He also racked up 45 strikeouts, compared to just 11 walks with a 10.4 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate.
After the trade, Rosado was assigned to Winston-Salem, where he posted a 2.76 ERA across ten games and 16.1 innings pitched, where he struck out 23 batters and issued only four walks.
White Sox trade Eloy Jimenez to the Baltimore Orioles
The White Sox’s second trade of the day was their most surprising, as the team off-loaded Eloy Jimenez to the Baltimore Orioles in what basically amounted to a salary dump.
Jimenez was on the books for $13 million in the final year of his six-year, $43 million contract and Baltimore was willing to take the risk trading for him.
The White Sox acquired left-handed pitcher Trey McGough from the Orioles in return for Jimenez.
McGough went 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA across 14 games and one start for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights after the trade, while Jimenez hit .232 with a .586 OPS in 33 games with Baltimore.
White Sox trade Tanner Banks to Phillies for No. 11 prospect
Minutes before the deadline, the White Sox made their third move, sending left-handed reliever Tanner Banks to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league shortstop William Bergolla.
At the time, Bergolla was the No. 11 prospect in the Phillies’ minor league system and came with a Major League lineage. His father, William Bergolla Sr., played briefly with the Cincinnati Reds in 2005.
Bergolla Jr. slashed .316/.386/.368 in 22 games with the High-A Winston-Salem Dash after the trade. In 89 games total at the High-A level, Bergolla Jr. hit .300 with one home run, 12 doubles, five triples and 40 RBI.
Banks posted a 2-2 record with a 4.13 ERA in 41 games and 48 innings pitched for Chicago in 2024. He also notched 55 strikeouts against 15 walks for the White Sox before being traded.
In 22 games with Philadelphia, Banks posted an 0-1 record with a 3.70 ERA, 23 strikeouts and ten walks in 22 games across 24.1 innings pitched.
Most consecutive home losses in franchise history
The day is Sept. 9 and the White Sox are set to start a three-game series against the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians.
Just like in so many other instances throughout the year, Chicago found a way to lose, and in doing so, added another bullet point to an extensive list of futility.
Cleveland’s Joey Cantillo pitched seven sterling innings for his first major-league win, and the Guardians beat the White Sox, 5-3, to send the South Siders to their 13th consecutive home loss.
The streak dated back to an Aug. 13 home loss against the New York Yankees, 4-1, and would be extended by another three games until it mercifully came to an end in game 2 of a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Sept. 14.
Grifol gets the ax
Second-year manager Pedro Grifol was fired on Aug. 8, an off day that followed a Wednesday night performance that dropped the White Sox to 28-89 after a 3-2 loss to the Athletics.
The move came two days after Chicago snapped their AL record-tying 21-game losing streak.
Alongside Grifol getting the ax, the White Sox also relieved bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third base coach Eddie Rodriguez and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar of their duties.
Hours later, the team announced Grady Sizemore would take over as interim manager, months after he was brought on for his first MLB coaching job as just that — a MLB coach.
“As we all recognize, our team’s performance this season has been disappointing on many levels,” Getz said in a news release that announced Grifol’s firing. “Despite the on-field struggles and lack of success, we appreciate the effort and professionalism Pedro and the staff brought to the ballpark every day. These two seasons have been very challenging.
“Unfortunately, the results were not there, and a change is necessary as we look to our future and the development of a new energy around the team.”
Grifol was hired on Nov. 3, 2022. He led the White Sox to an 89-190 record over 279 games at the helm, with just a .319 winning percentage.
The White Sox went 61-101 in 2023.
From Jerry, with love
As the White Sox approached the Major League record for losses in a season since 1900, media organizations across Chicago and the United States requested a statement from White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who obliged on the 23rd anniversary of 9/11.
“Everyone in this organization is extremely unhappy with the results of this season, that goes without saying,” Reinsdorf said. “This year has been very painful for all, especially our fans. We did not arrive here overnight, and solutions won’t happen overnight either. Going back to last year, we have made difficult decisions and changes to begin building a foundation for future success.
“What has impressed me is how our players and staff have continued to work and bring a professional attitude to the ballpark each day despite a historically difficult season. No one is happy with the results, but I commend the continued effort. I expect to have more to say at the end of the season.”
Chicago was 33-114 at the time of Reinsdorf’s statement, 13 games prior to setting the MLB modern record for losses in a single season.
On the last day of the season, Reinsdorf penned an open letter to fans, where he took responsibility for the team’s poor performance, saying White Sox fans “all deserved better.”
Here’s the full letter from Reinsdorf:
“To White Sox Fans,
“By all measures, our on-field performance this season was a failure. As the leader of this organization, that is my ultimate responsibility. There are no excuses.
“I want to thank you for continuing to support the team throughout what was an embarrassing season. You all deserved better. This season’s performance was completely unacceptable and the varying reactions and emotions from our fanbase are completely understandable.
“While embracing new ideas and outside perspectives, we will do everything we can to fix this for 2025 and the future. This will include further development of players on our current roster, development within our system, evaluating the trade and free agent markets to improve our ballclub and new leadership for our analytics department, allowing us to elevate and improve every process within our organization with a focus for competing for championships. In fact, change has already been happening in our baseball operations group throughout this past year. When named general manager in 2023, Chris Getz and his staff immediately began conducting a top-to-bottom evaluation of our existing operations. Chris is rebuilding the foundation of our baseball operations department, with key personnel changes already happening in player development, international scouting, professional scouting and analytics. Some of these changes will be apparent quickly while others will need time to produce the results we all want to see at the major-league level.
“Our organization’s most important decision in the coming months is to evaluate and identify a new manager and leadership voice for this organization. Chris is well underway with this search. He has identified the key attributes and preferences for our next manager and has already begun an exhaustive search with a wide range of candidates to lead the White Sox in the clubhouse and dugout.
“Even in the worst of seasons, where at times it felt like nothing was going right, there were bright spots that provided reasons for optimism about our future. The overall health of our organization is improving. Our minor league rankings show this growth. The Class AA Birmingham Barons won the Southern League title, while Class A Kannapolis reached the finals of the Carolina League, and our organization has built an impressive future pool of very talented prospects.
“Whether said out loud or written in a statement, words are easy. I understand we need to show our progress through action, and I commit to you that everyone associated with the White Sox is focused on returning this organization to the level of success we all expect and desire.
“Above everything else, I am a fan, a fan of baseball, of Chicago and of the White Sox. Every loss this season — every blown save, every defensive miscue, every shutout, every sweep — hurt. It was a long, painful season for us all. We recognize, on a daily basis, that it is our responsibility to earn your trust, attention, time and support. We vow to take that approach daily as we put the work in this offseason to be better.
“We owe it to each and every one of you.”
– Chicago White Sox Chairman & Owner Jerry Reinsdorf
Was there anything positive about this team?
There were a few sparingly bright spots here and there.
Garrett Crochet, a 2020 first-round pick out of Tennessee, went from oft-injured power reliever, to one of the most devastating left-handed starting pitchers in the game.
In his first season as a starter, Crochet finished the year with a 3.58 ERA, 6-12 record and a 4.1 WAR across 32 starts, the back half of which featured a pitch count restriction to limit wear and tear on his throwing arm.
Crochet tallied 209 strikeouts in 2024, which was good for seventh in MLB, despite pitching 40.1 innings less than the next closest starting pitcher in innings pitched, among the six pitchers who finished with more than him.
His 146 innings pitched was nearly three times as many innings as his previous career high of 54.1, which he compiled mostly as a late-game reliever in 2021.
The White Sox had two stretches the entire season where they played above .500 baseball for six-plus games.
From April 26 to May 15, the White Sox went 11-8 against the Tampa Bay Rays (4-2), Minnesota Twins (0-3), Cleveland Guardians (3-1), St. Louis Cardinals (2-1) and Washington Nationals (2-1).
Then, at the end of the season, Chicago went 5-1 over their last six games against the Detroit Tigers (2-1) and Los Angeles Angels (3-0).
The White Sox’s best offensive performance of the year came against one of two teams in this year’s World Series — The New York Yankees.
The South Siders unloaded a season high 12 runs on 18 hits against the Yankees on Aug. 12 in a 12-2 win — their largest margin of victory on the year.
“I just couldn’t be happier for the guys,” said interim manager Grady Sizemore, who wore a smile a mile wide following his first win as White Sox manager that night. “Just what a great win. A great game played all around, all sides of the ball. So proud of them.”
Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets collected four hits a piece, while Korey Lee and Brooks Baldwin each hit home runs to fuel a performance that belied the standard of baseball played all season long by Chicago.
And while the White Sox may not have the greatest product on the field, they continued to roll out great food products around it — the Campfire Milkshake, Buona Beef, smoked pork sandwiches, tacos and tostadas — all great options to cope with the mediocrity on the field.
Before the 2024 season unfolded, USA Today ranked Guaranteed Rate Field as the No. 8 venue in Major League Baseball for ballpark food.
Where do the White Sox go from here?
The White Sox officially hired Will Venable as their new manager Thursday morning, making him the 44th skipper in club history and in the process, giving him perhaps the most difficult task that any manager on the South Side has ever had — rebuild the worst team in modern MLB history.
Venable brings 18 years of experience as either a player or coach to his new job, which includes time in Chicago as a first and third base coach for the Cubs, two seasons on the bench for the Boston Red Sox, and winning a World Series championship in 2023 as associate manager of the Texas Rangers.
Venable and General Manager Chris Getz will need to be in lockstep as they work to address the club’s long list of needs, and if the White Sox aim to be anywhere near respectable in 2025, a busy offseason should be on the books.
I’ll be putting together an off-season roadmap (akin to last year’s article on the same topic) for the White Sox where I take a look at their roster, what they have to work with, and what trades/free agency moves they could make to at least get back to being near average.
How the White Sox Became a Chaotic Organization: Former Ace Jake Peavy Provides an Insider View (rg.org): https://rg.org/news/baseball/how-the-white-sox-became-chaotic-organization-former-ace-jake-peavy-provides-an-insider-view